Shipping mount for room air conditioners

ABSTRACT

A shipping mount for a room air conditioner having a fixed outer case employs special nuts accessible from the bottom of the shipping block which engage the compressor hold down bolts and the shipping block to pull the compressor down tight against the chassis base pan for shipping purposes. By removing the nuts, the compressor is freed to float normally on its coils spring mounts without need to remove the outer case for adjustment of the compressor hold down bolts.

United States Patent 1 Neudeck et al.

[ Sept. 11, 1973 1 VSHIPPING MOUNT FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONERS [75] Inventors: Herbert D. Neudeclt, Cedar Rapids;

Ronald A. Thalacker, Amana, both of Iowa [73] Assignee: Amana Refrigeration, Inc., Amana,

Iowa

[221' Filed: Sept. 27, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 183,843 g [52] US. Cl. 248/20, 206/46 M, 248/119 R [51] Int. Cl F161 15/06 [58] Field of Search 248/20, 21, 24, 119 R;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,198,324 8/1965 Kallenback et a1. 248/119 R X Primary ExaminerJ. Franklin Foss Attorney-Haven E. Simmons 57] ABSTRACT A shipping mount for a room air conditioner having a fixed outer case employs special nuts accessible from the bottom of the shipping block which engage the compressor hold down bolts and the shipping block to pull the compressor down tight against the chassis base pan for shipping purposes. By removing the nuts, the compressor is freed to float normally on its coils spring mounts without need to remove the outer case for adjustment 'of the compressor hold down bolts.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures SHIPPING MOUNT FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION chassis is slidably inserted in the case after the latter has been installed, for obviously the compressor mounts are readily available at that time for adjustment before the chassis is finally slid into its case.

But some window air conditioners, especially smaller ones, are equipped with fixed cases, generally secured to the chassis by a multitude of screws, inasmuch as owing to their smaller size and weight they can be installed and removed whole, without need of first separating the chassis and the case. However, when units of the latter type are received from the factory in their shipping cartons, it has been necessary nevertheless to remove the cases from the chassis simply in order to adjust the compressor mounts. Hence it is the primary object of the present invention to provide means by which the compressor mounts of fixed case air conditioners can be adjusted upon receipt of the unit at the installation site without the need to remove the case in order to do so.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Room air conditioners are typically transported upon a wooden shipping block or pallet surrounded by a suitable carton. Advantage is taken of this by securing the bolts, which normally retain the coil spring mounting assemblies of the compressor in floating condition, to

the base pan by means of sleeve nuts. The bolts are then turned to pull the compressor down towards the base pan until metal stops on each of the compressors feet engage the top of the base pan, at which point the compressor is thereby rigidly held to the base pan and the coil springs rendered ineffective. The lower ends of the bolts then extend well down below the base pan and pass through the shipping block which issecured in turn to the bolts by means of additional sleeve nuts screwed thereon from beneath the shipping block. Hence the bolts not only rigidly secure the compressor to the base pan but also help secure the shipping block as well.

The lower ends of the bolts are recessed to take an Allen wrench, which is included with the cartoned air conditioner, and when the air conditioner is unpacked, the Allen wrench is used to back off the bolts until they are free of the sleeve nuts retaining the shipping block, thus freeing it for removal. At the same time, since the bolts by the same operation have also been backed off through the sleeve nuts securing the bolts to the base pan, the stops are thereby freed from the base pan and the coil springs become operative to float the compressor. The parts are sized so that when the lower ends of the bolts are flush with the bottom ends of the sleeve the compressor, all without any need to removethe air conditioners case to do so.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, illustrating one of the several mounting assemblies of an air conditioner compressor with the present invention applied thereto to hold the compressor and the shipping block firmly to the base pan for shipping purposes.

FIG. 2is a bottom view taken from the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An air conditioner compressor 10 is mounted upon several feet 11 (only one being shown) above an upset platform 12 of the chassis base pan 13 by the following.

means for each foot 11: A bolt 14 is threaded up through a sleeve nut 15 which passes up through the platform 12 and an elastomeric bushing 16 atop the platform 12 having an annular seat 17 at its lower end receiving and locating the bottom. end of a coil spring 18 which encompasses the body of the bushing 16. The upper end of the spring 18 bears against a seat 19 formed within an inverted counterwell in the lower end of a second elastomeric bushing 20 spaced above the bushing 16 and spacedly encompassing the bolt 14. The latter and a necked-down portion of the bushing 20 extend up through a hole in the foot 11, the bushing 20 being retained by an annular lip portion 21 overlying the upper face of the foot 1 l. The upper end of the bolt 14 receives a nut 22 and a washer 23 which bear down against the upper face of the lip 21. A compressor stop 24, in the form of an inverted metal cup, is sandwiched between the upper shoulder 25 of the bushing 20 and the lower face of the foot 11 and encompasses the bushings 16 and 20 and the spring 18.

When the bolts 14, whose lower ends are recessed at 26 to receive an Allen wrench, are turned up in the sleeve nuts 15, they draw the feet 11 downwards until the stops 24 contact the platform 12. At this point the bolts 14 extend well below the base pan 13 and pass down through enlarged holes 27 in the shipping block 28 disposed against the'bottom of the base pan 13. Other sleeve nuts 29 are then threaded on the lower 7 ends of the bolts 14, their heads being received in counterbores in the lower face of the block 28, and are turned up tight to help hold the block 28 in position, as illustrated in the drawings. When the air conditioner is unpacked from its carton, an Allen wrench (not shown) included therewith is used to back off the bolts pressor 10 to float. The parts are sized so that the nuts engaging the base pan, the coil springs are relaxed sufficiently to provide the proper amount of float for proper amount of compressor float is achieved when the lower ends of the bolts 14 are flush with the lower ends of the sleeve nuts 15 thus forming a kind of gauge as to how far to back off the bolts 14. Hence, not only is the shipping block 28 free but also the mounting of the compressor 10 adjusted for proper operation, all

without need to remove the outer case of the unit.

Though the present invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, being the best mode known of carrying out the invention, it is not limited to that embodiment alone. Instead, the following claims are to be read as encompassing all adaptations and modifications of the invention falling within its spirit and scope.

We claim:. I

1. ln a room air conditioner having a chassis base pan, a refrigerant compressor with laterally extending feet for supporting said compressor in spaced relation above said base pan, a shipping mount for said air conditioner having a compressor mounting portion disposed against the bottom of said base pan beneath said compressor, and resilient means disposed between said feet and base pan effective to provide a floating, insu-- lease said shipping mount from said base pan, each of said retaining means comprising: a rotable means extending down through said foot, resilient means and base pan; a first holding means associated with said base pan and threadedly engaging said rotable means,

said rotable means having a lower portion extending down through said first holding means and said mounting portion when said compressor is in said transit position, said rotable means being accessible from beneath said mounting portion for rotation thereof, said rotation being effective to cause movement of said compressor from one of said positions to the other; and a second holding means threadedly engaging said rotable means lower portion and said mounting portion to secure said shipping mount to said base pan.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein each of said rotable means comprises a bolt and each of said holding means an open ended sleeve nut, rotation of said bolts in one direction relative to said first and second sleeve nuts being effective both to release said bolts from said second retaining sleeve nuts for removal of said shipping mount and to cause said resilient means to move said compressor from said second to said operating position.

3. The combination of claim 2 including stop means preventing downward movement of said compressor beyond said transit position, said stop means providing non-floating, non-insulated contact of said compressor with said base pan.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the lower ends of said bolts are flush with the lower ends of said first sleeve nuts when said compressor is in said operating position. 

1. In a room air conditioner having a chassiS base pan, a refrigerant compressor with laterally extending feet for supporting said compressor in spaced relation above said base pan, a shipping mount for said air conditioner having a compressor mounting portion disposed against the bottom of said base pan beneath said compressor, and resilient means disposed between said feet and base pan effective to provide a floating, insulated relation of said compressor to said base pan when said compressor is in operating position above said pan and compressible to permit said compressor to be moved to a lower transit position above said pan wherein said compressor is in non-floating, non-insulated relation thereto, the combination therewith of retaining means associated with said feet and said shipping mount, said retaining means retaining said compressor in said transit position and said shipping mount against said base pan and adjustable to move said compressor to said operating position and to release said shipping mount from said base pan, each of said retaining means comprising: a rotable means extending down through said foot, resilient means and base pan; a first holding means associated with said base pan and threadedly engaging said rotable means, said rotable means having a lower portion extending down through said first holding means and said mounting portion when said compressor is in said transit position, said rotable means being accessible from beneath said mounting portion for rotation thereof, said rotation being effective to cause movement of said compressor from one of said positions to the other; and a second holding means threadedly engaging said rotable means lower portion and said mounting portion to secure said shipping mount to said base pan.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein each of said rotable means comprises a bolt and each of said holding means an open ended sleeve nut, rotation of said bolts in one direction relative to said first and second sleeve nuts being effective both to release said bolts from said second retaining sleeve nuts for removal of said shipping mount and to cause said resilient means to move said compressor from said second to said operating position.
 3. The combination of claim 2 including stop means preventing downward movement of said compressor beyond said transit position, said stop means providing non-floating, non-insulated contact of said compressor with said base pan.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the lower ends of said bolts are flush with the lower ends of said first sleeve nuts when said compressor is in said operating position. 